October 2015

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Aliaga (Aliagha) Vahid, once known as a "master of satiric poetry" in his native Azerbaijan, is the person portrayed in the August issue's mystery photo. Sculpted in 1990 by Rahib Hasanov, the approximately 10-foot-tall bronze bust stands in a small garden area of the Icheri Sheher (Inner City) section of Baku, Azerbaijan. Embedded in the hair of this unique sculpture are allegorical figures.

Nearly 20 crocodiles can be seen up close in Hartley’s Lagoon, 40 minutes north of Cairns, at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures (Captain Cook Hwy., Wangetti Beach, Queensland 4879, Australia; phone +61 7 4055 3576, www.crocodileadventures.com).

Also, lizards and turtles can be seen on self-guided walks along with cassowaries and other tropical birds in a walk-through aviary. There is an interpretive educational center, and tours of the Crocodile Farm show how the sustainable commercial use of wildlife contributes to wildlife and habitat conservation. 

The exhibit “Munch: Van Gogh,” comparing the lives and work of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch and Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, runs until Jan. 17, 2016, at the Van Gogh Museum (Paulus Potterstraat 7, 1071 CX Amsterdam, Netherlands; phone +31 20 570 5200, www.vangoghmuseum.com). It includes one of Munch’s paintings “The Scream.” Open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.-Thurs. & 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. €17 (near $19) adult; child up to 17, free.

Local stonemasons, with the assistance of UNESCO, in July finished restoring 14 mausoleums in the city of Timbuktu, Mali, three years after Islamic fundamentalists destroyed them. 

In July, the first American female captain in cruise industry history was selected by Celebrity Cruises (Miami, FL; 844/418-6824, www.celebritycruises.com). Captain Kate McCue of San Francisco, California, took command of the Celebrity Summit in August. McCue graduated from California State University’s Maritime Academy and has 15 years’ experience managing ship logistics.

As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 37 destinations: Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, El Salvador, Eritrea, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Israel/West Bank/Gaza, Kenya, North Korea, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Republic of South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen.

The Department of State urges travelers to exercise caution when visiting Haiti, given Haiti’s weak emergency-response infrastructure. Medical facilities in Haiti, including ambulance services, are particularly weak. Some US citizens injured in accidents and others with serious health concerns have had to arrange and pay for medical evacuation to the US. The State Department strongly encourages visitors to Haiti to obtain evacuation insurance.

Tropical Storm Erika made landfall on the Caribbean island of Dominica on Aug. 27, killing at least 20 people and damaging buildings, roads and bridges and the main airport, which became blocked by debris and a wrecked plane. The storm dropped more than 12 inches of rain and caused a landslide in the town of Petite Savanne.

In the Indonesian province of West Papua, a Trigana Air flight heading from Jayapura to Oksibil and carrying 54 people, all Indonesians, crashed in the jungle, near its destination, on Aug. 16. There were no survivors. Inclement weather may have been a factor in the crash.